TAKING AUTHORITY: PASTOR MENSA OTABIL – SUNDAY SERVICE, 11TH JULY, 2021

SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)

TOPIC: TAKING AUTHORITY

DATE: 11TH JULY, 2021

TEXT: LUKE 4:31-36

Amen! Let’s rise up together, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:

Are you ready? Say with me:

The Eternal God is our Refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.

The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.

Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be Fresh and Flourishing.

Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, and move and have my Being.

It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing Fruits in its Season.

So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me Exceedingly Fruitful.

In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by Day, Step by Step.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

I will be teaching today on: TAKING AUTHORITY.

Luke’s Gospel 4:31-36 will be my first (1st) Text today.

Whilst I am reading – Note the ocassions where the word ‘Authority’ occurs. And you can underline it in your Bible.

Luke 4:31-36 (NKJV):

31 And came down to Capernaum, a City of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.

32 And they were astonished at His Doctrine: for His Word was with Power.

33 And in the Synagogue there was a man, which had a Spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy Peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with Authority and Power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

The Text is about Jesus Christ!

You would note that the word ‘Authority’ is used twice in the Passage – In Verse 32 and in Verse No. 36 – the word ‘Authority’ is used.

The word Authority (as we find it in the English) comes from the Greek word ‘EXOUSIA’ – And that is translated as Authority.

And the reason why I make reference to the Greek word is to break it down, to give us further meaning of what Exousia means.

Exousia can be broken into two (2) – ‘Ex’ and ‘Ousia’.

“Ex” in Greek means: From or Out of.

So, when we say ‘Ex’ – It means something that is coming out of something – Something from!

And ‘Ousia’ means what you have – Like your Wealth, your Property”.

… So it is something you have!

… Exousia means: From something that you have!

Authority basically, has to do with exercising what you have – If you don’t have it, you can’t exercise it!

So, when we talk: Jesus having a6uthority, He was operating from what he had.

If we talk about we ourselves having Authority, it means we are operating from what we have.

If you don’t have it, you can’t use it! – That is how Authority functions: it comes from what you have!

And when we look at the Passage we just read (Luke 4:31-36) there are two (2) things we see in Jesus – In Authority;

1. The first (1st) is that Jesus taught with Authority.

When He taught the Word of God, when He Preached the Word of God, He spoke with Authority.

And the People who heard Him compared Him with the Scribes (the Teachers of the Law) and they said that Jesus spoke with Authority – Not like the Teachers of the Law in their time.

So why did they draw the comparison?

Because the Teachers of the Law in Jesus’ time would have to refer to some other Authority – ‘So-and-So’ said.

It is almost like the way Academics write Major Thesis: According to So-and-So. And they would quote Books, Quote Authriites.

But they dodn’t have Authority in themselves since every Authority they had was outside of them.

But when it came to Jesus Christ, He didn’t quote some other Jewish Authority; He spoke from Himself. Because of course, He is the Word!

When He spoke, the People saw the difference between Him and the Others!

It is like somebody who wrote the Book himself, explaining the book – He doesn’t need to rely on somebody else to explain the book.

Jesus is the Word, He wrote the Book Himself. And so, when He Preached, He Preached with Authority.

… So He taught with Authority.

Not only did He teach with Authority:

2. Jesus Christ demonstrated the Power by casting out demons with Authority.

It was not just in Words only, but also in demonstration of Power – He cast out demons with Authority!

It is very interesting when you read that Passage (Luke 4:31-36) to know: When Jesus had cast out the demons and the demon came out, the People who were there (listening and watching) said: “What WORD is this?”

… They didn’t say: ‘What Power is this?’ – But, what WORD is this?

So, the demonstration of the Power that cast out the demons made the People say: ‘What is this?’

Why did they say that? – They said that because, Power was released through the Word.

When Jesus cast out the demons, He spoke with such Authority, the People said – What kind of Word is this? I mean, who uses Words in such Authoritative way, so that even demons would come out?

Jesus used Words, and His Words carried a force that compelled other forces to obey Him.

Jesus used Words in a very Powerful way! – When He said to the demon – COME OUT!

… He said it with so much authority, the demons came out!

The People said: What Word is this? Who is this who uses Words with such Authority?

I believe this morning, we can also use Words – The Word of God, with Authority (like Jesus) because, not only did Jesus teach with Words, He cast our demons with Authority.

3. He has given us His Authority.

Jesus has given us His Authority – His Authority does not only stay with Him, it is not only manifested in Him and through Him; His Authority has been given to us.

Luke 10:17-19:

17 And the seventy returned again with Joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy Name.

18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.

19 Behold, I give unto you Power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the Power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

And Matthew 28:18-19:

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

This was after Jesus had sent seventy (70) of His Disciples to go out and they came reporting the Miracles that had happened. He gave them Authority over serpents and over all the Power of the enemy.

… Authority in Christ comes from what is available to us!

Remember how I defined Authority from the Greek word “Exousia” – Out of what you have, out of the Treasures you have, out of the Possessions you have.

For us to exercise Authority, we must be given Authority.

Jesus said to His Disciples – “I give you Authority over all the works of the enemy.”

And then when He resurrected, He said: I have all the Power now. Go in the same Authority that He has!

… Our Authority comes from what Christ has made available to us.

In the New Testament, what Christ has given to us is there in the Epistles – Apostle Paul calls it the riches of Inheritance in Christ.

There is something that Christ has made available to us; that He has put into us – It is inside us. And it is out of what we have that Exousia will bring it out.

… The authority rests in us, we release it out of us!

Remember, when Peter and Paul were at the Beautiful Gate and they saw a man who was crippled? Remember the words that Peter used; “Such as I have, I give you.”

He was referring to the Authority that was in him – Exousia. What I have, come out of me!

… So, He has given us Authority!

WHERE IS THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER?

We are going to look at the Believer’s Authority; and I will talk about three (3) things that has been given to us to give us Authority.

1. First, the Believer’s Authority is in the Power of Christ’s Resurrection.

It is after His Resurrection that He said: All Power has been given to me.

When He resurrected, he spoilt Principalities.

And the Power that raised Christ from the dead is the same Power that is at work in us.

There is the Power of the Resurrection residence in us (in you and me) if you are a Believer in Christ. He doesn’t reside in everybody but He resides in the Believers in Christ Jesus.

The Power at work in us; the Resurrection Power – That is your first Deposit.

2. The Second (2nd) is the Holy Spirit – Who lives in us.

The Holy Spirit Who lives in us is the Sign that we are connected to God; and the Presence of God in us.

The early Disciples of Jesus understood the Authority they had through the Holy Spirit.

So, the Authority of the Believer is: first, the Resurrection Power. Second,the Holy Spirit’s Presence in us.

And;

3. The Third (3rd) is the Supremacy of the Name of Jesus

Remember the Disciples who came and say: Lord, even the demons were Subject to us in Your Name.

… The Name of Jesus, the Presence of the Holy Spirit and the Power of the Resurrection.

If you want to know what God has given to you – Out of which you will express Authority; through these three (3): The Name of Jesus, the Power on the Resurrection and the Presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

At the mention of the Name of Jesus; every knees bow!

And we have the Name – If you are a Believer, you have the right to use the Name of Jesus. If you are not a Believer, you don’t have the right to use the Name of Jesus in expressing Authority.

You remember, in the Book of Acts – Seven (7) sons of a Priest called Sceva; who saw Paul casting out demons and they said: “In the Name of Jesus whom Paul Preaches.”

They used the Name of Jesus, but they didn’t have the Authorisation to use the Name of Jesus.

And the demon in the Person said: “Jesus I know – I recognise Jesus. Paul I know.

Why did he say: Paul I know? Because he (Paul) is authorised to use the Name of Jesus.

If you were there,the demons would have said so too – Jesus I know and mentioned you name.

Why? – Because your name has been registered as an Authorised User of the Name of Jesus!

You are an Authorised User of the Name of Jesus – Amen.

It’s like Toyota would have an Authorised Distributor or a Company would have an Authorised Dealer – You are an Authorised User of the Name of Jesus.

So, the demon said to the sons of Sceva: I know the Authority and know those who have the Rights to use it, but you – Where are you coming from? Who are you?

… And they suffered the consequences of using the Name of Jesus without Authorisation.

But Thank God, we have the Authorisation through Jesus Christ our Lord – Amen!

WHAT DO WE USE THE AUTHORITY TO DO?

Since Christ has given us Authority, what should we use our Authority for? Or what should we use our Authority to do?

I will talk about three (3) things we use our Authority to do; and after that we will Pray!

1. We use our Authority first, to Proclaim God’s Decrees.

What does it mean?

It means God has decreed things and by the Authority that we have in the Name of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit and through the Power of the Resurrection, we can Proclaim those Words.

It means we can say those Words, and those Words coming out of her mouth would have the same Power as if they came out of the mouth of Jesus Christ.

To Proclaim God’s Decrees, we say what God says. He has said it, so we can boldly say the Words too.

When we are declaring on speaking words, we are saying what God says; Proclaiming God’s decree.

… So that is the first thing we use our Authority to do.

If God says: Let the weak say I am Strong, then we can also say – I am Strong.

What are we doing? We are Proclaiming God’s Decrees.

If He says you are the Head and not the Tail. You say: I am the Head and not the Tail. You are Proclaiming God’s Decrees.

Anytime before I Preached, and we make all those Proclamations, it is not Poetry; we are Proclaiming God’s Decrees.

Why? – Because everything we say comes from the Scriptures.

There are about fourteen (14) Scriptures that are put together into that Declaration.

So, when we make them, by Authority, we are Proclaiming and affirming God’s decree. We have Authority to declare what God declares!

2. We have Authority to enforce Christ Dominion.

You must bring every thoughts and every Spirit captive to the knowledge of Christ.

So anything that is contrary to what Christ has made Possible, we must enforce the dominion of Christ.

To operate in Authority, we must be aware that what Christ has made available to us is for us. And we must make it happen.

I. If He died for our sins, we must be saved.

II. If He was wounded for our transgression, we must be delivered from our transgression.

III. If the chastisement of our Peace was upon Him, we must have Peace.

IV. If by His stripes we are healed, we must be healed – we must enforce the healing.

… You can’t just say – Jesus gave it to me, so it is so! You must enforce it.

3. By the Authority that Christ gave us, we must establish God’s Will.

Whether we are moving Mountains, whether we are Praying for situations to change, all that we are doing is that; we are establishing God’s Will. We are Proclaiming God’s Decrees or enforcing Christ’s Dominion. That is all that we are doing!

Wherever He has Dominion, we Proclaim His Dominion!

Jesus shall reign wherever the sun is: From morning to evening. As the sun moves around the Globe, we are establishing the Authority of Jesus around the Globe, to establish His Will.

So this morning, as we Pray, we are going to Pray with Understanding.

Remember, Authority is based on what is inside you – ‘If you don’t have it, you can’t use it.’

I. What is inside you is the Power of the Resurrected Christ inside you.

II. What is inside you is the Holy Spirit of God.

III. And God has also given to you the Name of Jesus to use.

… These are your Sources of Authority.

And when you use these words, you are establishing God’s Will; you are enforcing Christ’s Dominion; and you are making Decrees according to the Word of God.

So we would (with this Understanding) Pray!

And I will give you Four (4) Prayer Topics that we will Pray about this morning.

And you can fashion it out in your own way – Pray for Specific Areas of your Life.

Let’s rise up together to Pray today!

What I will do as we Pray – for those of you who are following us at home or reading now on the label of DMC, and just be Part of this Prayer.

I will lead you with a Prayer. And then after I lead you with the pryayer, you will Pray on your own. I will lead you to make a Prayer Declaration, and after that, you will use own words to Pray.

… Are you ready? – Alright!

PRAYER POINTS

1. So, say with me: Heavenly Father, let Your Kingdom come. I Proclaim that the Kingdoms of this world has become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of Christ Jesus – Amen!

… Now make that decree – That every Kingdoms, every Nations, every Forces will come under the Kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ.

Oh yes, the Lord decrees Victory, in the Name of Jesus!

2. Say with me: Heavenly Father, let Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Manifest your Perfect Will in my life today; I will Subject every situations in my Life under the feet of Jesus.

… Now, Pray for the Will of God to be done in your Life as it is done in Heaven.

3. Say with me: Heavenly Father, I work in the Power of the Resurrected Christ; by the Words of my mouth I exercise Authority over demonic forces and their Plans and cast them out in Jesus’ Name.

… Now as Jesus used Words, begin to use your mouth!

4. Say with me: Heavenly Father, by the Authority of Christ I work in boldness to Possess my Inheritance as a Child of God. Father, I rejoice in Your Abundant Blessing, in Jesus’ Name.

The Blessing is yours, take it! – The Favour is yours, the Increase is yours, the Abundance is yours – Take it!

God has given to you all things that Pertains to Life and Godliness; it has been given – Take it!

CLOSING PRAYER CONFESSIONS

In the Name of Jesus we Declare Victory, we rejoice in the Abundance of Blessing that God has given to us.

SAY WITH ME:

Heavenly Father, Your Word is true, Your thoughts concerning me are for Good and not for evil.

I have exercised Authority today in the realm of the Spirit – I see the Manifestation in the realm of the Supernatural conforming to Your Will, to your Purposes, in the Name of Jesus.

I Thank You Father, I rejoice in Your Promises, in Jesus’ Name – Amen!

Give Jesus Praise!

If you know that you have taken Authority then rejoice in the Lord – Hallelujah!

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